Puzzle.



J. H. KENDIG.

PUZZLE.

APPLIOATION FILED APR.13.1914.

1,1 1 7,580. Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

WITNESSES INVENTOR JULIAN H. KENDIG, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

PUZZLE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIAN H. KENDIG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Puzzles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of puzzles wherein moving parts are to be lodged at predetermined points when the puzzle is correctly solved, and has for its principal objects the provision of a puzzle having but one method whereby it is possible to solve the puzzle; the provision of a puzzle wherein numerous methods of manipulation approach a successful solution but which ultimately result in failure; the provision of a puzzle wherein certain elements are employed for the purpose of defeating the actual solution of the puzzle and which serve to mislead the operator into as suming them to be essential to the solution; the provision of a puzzle wherein certain elements are employedto defeat the solution of the puzzle when manipulated in certain manners and which assist in the solution of the puzzle when the puzzle is properly manipulated, and the provision of a simple and inexpensive article of manufacture. One embodiment of my invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a top face view of the puzzle and Figure 2 is a section on the line Ill-II of Figure 1.

The puzzle as illustrated consists of an outside retaining casing 1, square in shape and provided with rounded corners the purpose of which will be disclosed later. Within the casing 1 is a shallow receptacle 2 stamped from a piece of sheet metal and is provided with a flange 3 at the top rim thereof adapted to rest upon a bench at, Fig. 2, within the casing 1, the said flange serving to support the receptacle within the casing.

A pair of balls 55 are placed within the receptacle and retained therein by a glass cover 6, which in turn is clamped to the flange 3 of the receptacle 2 by the turned over rim 7 of the casing 1. The rim 7 is raised to form upwardly projecting lugs 88 at two of the corners which are diagonally opposite each other, although one lug would properly serve the purpose if placed Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 13, 1914.

Patented Nov. 1'7, 1%)14.

Serial No. 831,390.

at a corner adjacent one of the pockets in the puzzle, the purpose of the lugs being to prevent the glass cover from resting upon a table in the horizontal position when the puzzle is placed on the table face down. The reason for such provision will herein later appear.

In the opposite side walls of the receptacle 2 are provided oval pockets 9 and 10, each adapted to receive a ball from the receptacle but capable oi retaining the balls 5-5 simultaneously only when the receptacle is tilted on the horizontal axis IIII so that the balls lie in the lower ends of the pockets. The puzzle is to place a ball in each pocket and retain them in such pockets at the same time. The walls of the pockets 9 and 10 are slightly sloped from the top thereof toward the center as they approach the bottom, and the bottom of each pocket is sloped downward from the walls toward the opening 11 of the pocket, as shown at 12 Fig. 2, the bottom of the pocket at the section IIII being a continuation of the bottom 13 of the receptacle. A very slight circular concave depression is made in the sloping bottom of the pockets as at 14, in which a ball may be retained when the receptacle is tilted slightly on the horizontal axis i\--;\ so that the ball within the pocket has a tendency to roll toward the wall of the pocket. This depression is not of sullicient depth, however, to retain a ball within the pocket when the receptacle is in the horizon tal position.

W'ith this construction oi. the pockets a ball will not remain in the pocket when the receptacle is in the horizontal position bottom side down. To prevent both balls from occupying the pockets siniultanemisly when the puzzle is placed on a horizontal table face down, the lugs 88 are employed. These lugs rest upon the table and cause one corner of the puzzle adjacent one of the pockets to be elevated from the table while the diagonally opposite corner adjacent the other pocket is resting upon the table, causing the surface of the glass to be inclined so that a ball resting thereon within a pocket which is elevated will immediately roll out of the pocket. These lugs 8-8 serve to defeat the solution of the puzzle in the inverted position and at the same time mislead the operator to believe that they may in some way be essential to the solution of the puzzle.

In the side walls of the receptacle, be tween the pockets 9 and 10 and diametrically opposite one another are provided the projections 15 and 16 which serve to defeat the solution of the puzzle when a number of methods of manipulation are employed, and which serve to aid in the actual solution of the puzzle when properly manipulated.

To illustrate how the various elements of the puzzle serve to defeat solution, a few examples of impropersolution will be cited. By placing the puzzle face up upon a table and spinning it on its horizontal plane, the balls may be forced into the pockets simultaneously, but they will not remain in the pockets because of the sloping bottoms of the pockets which cause the balls to imme diately roll toward the center of the receptacle. If the puzzle be inverted face down upon the table and similarly spun, one corner will be elevated as before described and the ball within the elevated pocket will roll out of the pocket because of the inclination of the cover.

If the puzzle is held inverted in the hand it is impossible to place both balls in the pockets because they are shaped so the balls will roll therefrom upon the slightest in clination of the glass and the balls will therefore roll to the same lower point because the glass is a plane surface.

If the lugs 15 and 16 were not present, it might be possible to put the balls in the pockets by holding the puzzle at a slight angle face up and then by imparting a re volving motion to the balls by a revolving motion of the hand on the horizontal plane, thereby causing the balls to revolve around the side walls of the receptacle until they are finally forced one at a time into the pockets. The projections 15 and 16 break up any such motion and it is impossible to solve the puzzle in the above manner.

Again, the lugs 15 and 16 prevent the solution of the puzzle when it is attempted to rock a ball back and forth while the puzzle is held edgewise or edge up when a ball is in one of the pockets. The balls might readily be put in the pockets in that manner if the projections did not interrupt such a procedure by checking the momentum of the ball near the center of its travel be tween the pockets.

The provision of the depression 14 in the bottom of each pocket 9 and 10 is for the purpose of suggesting a manipulation which will almost result successfully but which invariably terminates in failure. F or instance, a ball is lodged. in the depression 14% in the pocket 9, the depression being of such slight depth that a ball may barely be balanced therein and will roll out of the pocket when the puzzle is in horizontal position. it is possible therefore, to rock the remaining ball back and forth across the bottom of the re cepta-cle in a line parallel with, the line 1Ill, Fig. 1, until it almost enters the opposite pocket 10. The ball in the pocket 9 will roll therefrom just before the ball enters pocket 10 and it will be found impossible to put both balls in the pockets in this manner, although it invites prolonged attempts along this line.

It will thus be seen that all the most obvious solutions of the puzzle are prevented by the provision of suitable elements to defeat such attempts. The actual solution is not suggested in any manner and it has been found that it is impossible without the aid of exterior means or forces to solve the puzzle, with but one exception which is the actual method of solution.

The actual solution of the puzzle is accomplished by first turning the puzzle edge up so that one of the projections 15 or 16 is at the lowermost part of the side walls of the receptacle. The puzzle is shaken until a ball is.located on each side of the projection as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1. The puzzle is then gripped by the thumb and index finger at the rounded corners 17 and 18 respectively, so that the puzzle is pivoted diagonally between the thumb and finger free to rotate about the axis AA which at such time is vertical. A sharp blow is given either of the corners 19 with the tips of the fingers of the unoccupied hand to suddenly rotate the puzzle about the vertical axis A- rlr. When the puzzle is thus rotated one of the balls is caused to revolve about the axis A A by engagement with the bottom of the receptacle, while the other ball is similarly revolved by engagement with the top or glass cover of the receptacle.

As the balls are held away from the axis n-rl by the projection 16, the balls are caused to revolve about such axis with sufficient velocity and at such a radius of revolution that the centrifugal force thereby generated causes them to travel up the inclined sides 20 of the receptacle and into the pockets 9 and 10 where they are retained by the walls of the pockets when the puzzle stops rotating. The slope of the bottom of the pockets is such that, when the puzzle thus solved, is tilted about the horizontal axis ll ll until the bottom of the puzzle approaches substantially an angle of 30 degrees with the horizontal, the balls will nolonger remain within the pockets.

It is essential that the corners of the puzzle be rounded or otherwise shaped so that a suitable socket for rotation of the puzzle is formed in the balls of the linger and thumb, in order that the puzzle will properly remain in pivoted position when being rotated. A square casing is best adapted to contain the receptacle as it provides suitable pivots without creating suspicion as to their purpose. This would not be the case if a round receptacle were provided with ball shaped pivots at the proper locations. It will be observed that by locating the pockets adj acent the corners of the casing, it is possible to use a casing of considerably smaller dimensions than would be possible if the pockets were located at the centerof one of the sides of the casing. The arrangement shown in Fig. 1 provides for the pivots at the proper location and is a very compact construction.

lVhile the receptacle shown in Fig. 1 is circular in shape, it might be made either oval or polygonal with good effect, and the pockets and projections might be formed in shapes other than those shown without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The construction of the puzzle, while being the one preferred, may be subject to many changes. It is quite possible to form the receptacle andcasing from one piece of ma terial by pressing it from glass, clay or composition of a suitable nature and then securing the glass cover in place in a suitable manner.

What I claim is: a

1. In combination in a puzzle, a receptacle comprising a bottom portion, a top portion and a side portion, a pair of pockets in the side portion, and a pair of balls in the receptacle adapted to be forced into the pockets by centrifugal force, the said'side portion, top portion and bottom portion 00- acting to guide the balls into the pockets when the receptacle is rotated about an axis substantially parallel to a surface of the top portion.

2. In combination in a puzzle, a receptacle comprising a bottom portion, a top portion and a side portion, a pair of pockets in the side portion, and apair of balls in the receptacle adapted to be forced into the pockets by centrifugal force, the said top and bottom portions serving to impart a revolving motion to the balls whereby they are forced along the side portions into the pockets when the receptacle is rotated about an'axis substantially parallel to a surface of the top portion.

3. In combination in a puzzle, a receptacle comprising abottomportion, a top portion substantially parallel thereto and a side portion, a pocket in the sicleportion, a ball in the receptacle adapted to be forced into the pocket by centrifugal force, the said top and bottom portions serving to impart a revolving motion to the ball whereby it is forced along the side portion into the pocket when the receptacle is rotated about an axis substantially parallel with the surface of the top portion.

at. In combination in a puzzle, a receptacle comprising a bottom portion, a top portion substantially parallel thereto and a side portion, a pocket in the side portion, a ball in the balls are the receptacle adapted to be forced into the pocket by centrifugal force, the side portion and top portion coacting to guide the ball into the pocket when. the receptacle is rotated about an axis substantially parallel to the Hip portion.

5. n combination in a puzzle, a receptacle comprising a bottom portion, a top portion substantially parallel thereto and a side portion, a pocket-in the side portion, a ball in the receptacle adapted to be forced into the pocket by centrifugal force, the said side portion and bottom portion coacting to guide the ball into the pocket when the receptacle is rotated about an axis substantially parallel to the top portion.

6. In a puzzle, a receptacle, a pair of balls in the receptacle, a cover for the receptacle, a pair of recesses in the walls of the receptacle adapted toreceive the balls, and a pair of projections midway between the recesses extending from the walls of the receptacle into the receptacle whereby the balls are spaced equidistant from the recesses when they are in engagement with the opposite sides of the pro ections.

7. In a puzzle, a receptacle, a pair of balls in the receptacle, a cover for the receptacle, a plurality of recesses in the walls of the receptacle adapted to retain the balls when, the receptacle is tilted from the horizontal plane, and to discharge said balls when the receptacle is in the horizontal position.

8. In a puzzle, a receptacle, a cover for the receptacle, a pair of balls in the receptacle, a pairof recesses in the walls of the receptacle disposed on opposite sides of the receptacle each adapted to retain a ball when tiltedfrom the horizontal, and a projection on each side of the receptacle disposed midway between the recesses whereby the balls are spaced equidistant from the recesses when the balls are in engagement with the opposite sides of the projections.

9. In a puzzle, a shallow receptacle, a pair of balls in the receptacle adapted to gravitate to the lower edge of the receptacle when the receptacle is tilted, means for spacing the balls apart when the receptacle is tilted, and pockets in the edge walls of the receptacle lying above the spacing means when the receptacle is tilted and means whereby guided into the pockets when the receptacle 1s spun about an axis substantiallly parallel with the bottom of the receptac e.

10. In a puzzle having a top and bottom face adapted to rest upon a fiat table, a receptacle, a cover for the receptacle, a plurality of ockets in the walls of the receptacle, a p urality of balls adapted to lodge in the pockets, and means whereby one of the balls is caused to move from a pocket when the receptacle is turned either face up upon the table.

11. Ina puzzle having atop and bottom face: adapted to rest upon a table, comprising a receptacle between thelfaces, a plurality of balls'within the receptacle and a plurality of recessesfor the balls in the side walls of the receptacle between the faces, the top and bottom of the recesses being inclined with the respect to the horizontalwhen the puzzle is resting upon the table either face up.

12. In a puzzle, a receptacle, aplurality; of pockets in the receptacle, a'plurality of balls in the receptacle adapted to lodge in the pockets, and means in the pockets whereby theballs are rolled into the receptacle when the puzzle is in horizontal position.

13. In a, puzzle, a receptacle provided with a concavebottom, pockets inthe sides ofthe receptacle, balls in the receptacle adapted to lodge in the pockets, the bottom ofthe-p'ockets being a continuation of: the concave bottom ofthe receptacle whereby a ball ina pocket will' roll toward. the: center of the receptacle when the recepta'cle' isin the horizontal position. j

14. In a puzzle adaptedtorest-either top or bottom face up upon a table, a receptacle, balls in the receptacle, pockets in the side of the receptacle adapted to receive the balls and means whereby an inclined bottom surface. is presented to a ballwithin a pocket when the puzzle-is resting. upon the table either face up, to causethe ball to roll out of the pocket;

15. In a puzzle adapted to rest either top or bottom face up upona table, a receptacle, a plurality of balls: within the receptacle, a plurality of pockets communicating with the receptacle-and into which: a ball may pass from the receptacle, and means whereby a ball will be rolled from atleast one of thepockets when the-puzzle is're'stingseither faceup upon thetable.

16. In a puzz'le-havingla square body" portion, a receptacle within the :body portion, a plurality ofballs withinthereceptacle, a pair of pockets in the sides of the receptacle arranged and communicating therewith on opposite sides of the receptacle, and a pair of oppositely disposed projections in the walls of the receptacle midway between the pair ofpockets in the receptacle adapted to receive the balls, and arranged at opposite sides of the receptacle, and a pair of projections in the side walls of the receptacle oppositely disposed, the said'pockets being adjacent one pair of diagonally disposed corners of the body portion and the said projections being adjacent the other pair of diagonally disposed corners of thebody portion. I V

18. In a puzzle, a receptacle, a pair of pockets in the side of the receptacle disposed at substantially opposite sides of the puzzle, a pair of projections, in the sides of the receptacle each disposed substantially midway between the pockets and a pair of balls in the receptacle adapted to be retained one in each pocket when the receptacle is tilted on a horizontal axis through the pockets, and means in the pockets for causing the ball to roll therefrom when the receptacle is in horizontal position.

19. In a puzzle, a receptacle, a cover for the receptacle, a pair of balls in the receptacle, a pair of pockets for the balls in the side wallsof the receptacle'disposed diametrically opposite one another, and a pair of projections extending into the receptacle from the sidewalls thereof disposed sub stantially diametrically opposite one another, the said projections being substantially midway between said pockets whereby the balls are spaced equidistant from the recesses when the balls arein engagement with the opposite sides of the projections.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

J ULIANIH. KENDIG.

Witnesses:

ARoHwoRTH MARTIN, L. SorronNBERGEm copies ottlna patentmay'ibcwbtained' for five-cents each, by addressing: th'e' commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D: 0. l 

